Dealing with deficit: An assessment of gender-based strategies to fill income gaps

Abstract

The paper examines gender-based strategies to fill income gaps in Adi E're, Ethiopia. In the parish, crop production is vulnerable to a multitude of challenges. Shortage of rainfall, locust plagues and rodent pests are seriously damaged a potential good harvest. In addition, farming activities is underperforming due to a relatively low technological level. For details on the factors associated to low crop production in the rural Tigray, see the work of Bauer. These are some of the factors that are affecting income generation in many households. As a result, they are often tried to address temporal deficits in grain production through strong gender-oriented strategies. The findings reveal that women have long played and continue to play an important role in the course of annual crop management and food security. Contrary to general perception, women in Adi E're are not merely circumscribed in processing and preparing food, collecting fuel and water, and caring for family but they are part of the wider practice of resource management and socio-economic interdependency. They are not merely contributing to stretch grain supply as far as possible, but also to maintain the household from economic bankruptcy and dispersal. The present study is, therefore, not only aimed to affirm the indispensable contribution of women in filling income gaps, but also to devalue prejudicial works. The study attempts to consult a plethora of primary and secondary sources. Both men and women living in the parish are extensively interviewed. The sources are significantly collected, scrutinized and analyzed. The validities of the sources are cross-checked one against the other.